By Bret Emrick
With high-hopes for the 2005 season, Rick Eckert of York,PA was looking for a good season. Getting out of the gate strongly was a must with the caliber of competition he would face along the World of Outlaws Late Model Series trail.
The season started off not the way “Scrub” and the rest of the “Orange Crush” race team were hoping for. Leaving Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park in 12th position in Championship points after the “Speedweeks” opener in February meant a lot of hard work and of course, racing luck to get back into the hunt once the season resumed in April.
Move forward to April. Familiar territory for Eckert with the next four races at venues he knew well. Allegany County Speedway in Maryland; Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway; Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania and Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland. A chance to get back into contention.
Racing luck was not with Eckert when the season resumed. An early race crash at Allegany County Speedway put him several laps down after returning from repairs. Then things turned around the next night with a solid third place finish at V.M.S. Late April saw a sixth place finish at Lernerville. After a rain out at Hagerstown, Eckert had worked his way back to fourth in Championship points and was back in contention.
Three Top 5 finishes in the next three events propelled Eckert into the runner-up slot for the championship. The Raye Vest Excavating/J&J Steel/Hoosier Tire sponsored Raye Vest owned No. 24 Rocket Chassis/Cornett Racing Engines Ford Taurus was running great. A victory had to be coming. June 1st at Farley Speedway in Iowa that victory came moving Eckert to within eight points of the Championship point lead.
Another Top 5 finish at Dakota State Fair Speedway in South Dakota moved Eckert only two points from the lead. The expectations for the year were being reached. The next night racing luck frowned on Eckert at Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota. Mechanical problems forced Eckert pitside for repairs returning to the event several laps down and dropping to third in the Championship points. A continuous streak of Top 5 and Top 10 finishes from June 19th to August 12th kept Eckert with the third position in his quest for the Championship.
August 13th. Lincoln Speedway in Pennsylvania. Eckert’s home track. More bad luck and Eckert drops to fourth in Championship points. Then another drop in position after more bad luck at Lebanon Valley Raceway in New York.
From that point forward Eckert had racing luck back with him. More Top 5 and Top 10 finishes as well as a victory September 4th at Tri-City Speedway in Pennsylvania moved “Scrub” back to fourth in Championship points and within reach of third as the 2005 World of Outlaws Late Model Series came to a close.
A seventh place finish at Golden Isles Speedway in Georgia pulled “Scrub” to within 24 points of third place. A good finish and bad racing luck for Tim McCreadie at Volusia Speedway Park was needed. In a torrid battle in the latter stages of the season ending event, Eckert and McCreadie battled back and forth. Eckert did finish ahead of McCreadie placing fourth but it wasn’t nearly enough to crack the Top 3 in Championship points.
“It was a fairly good season for us on the World of Outlaws trail, but we just couldn’t get into victory lane enough,” stated Eckert. “Of course, everyone wants their share of wins, but we were close so many times and finished somewhere in the top five. If you look at the guys that finished ahead of us in points, we were right with them in the top five and top ten categories, but they had more wins than us. I have to thank my entire crew, family, and sponsors for all of their help this season. I especially want to thank my car owner Raye Vest and crew chief Robby Allen for their continued dedication and support.”
Though there were only two wins on the season, consistency was the key for Eckert evidenced by twenty Top 5 finishes and thirty-one Top 10 finishes. Eckert was the WoO Late Model Series leading driver in fast qualifier honors (6) and also tied for the lead in heat race wins (17). For Eckert and the Raye Vest team the 2005 season was one of highs and one of lows. Taking advantage of the highs and working hard through the lows resulted in a fourth place finish in 2005 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Championship points.
2005 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Final Championship Points
Showing Pos., Car #, Driver, Residence, Entered, Starts, Wins, Top 5’s, Top 10’s, Fast Times, Heat Wins, “B” Wins, Dash Wins, Purse $ Won, Point Fund $ Won
4. #24 Rick Eckert – York,PA: 39 – 39 – 2 – 20 – 31 – 6 – 17 – 0 – 4 - $119,960 - $43,000
The World Of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to the fans across the country by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire and SPEED Channel. Promotional Partners include AMB i.t., RACEceiver, HUMMERSGONEWILD.COM, Zippo Lighters, and The University of Northwestern Ohio. Contingency sponsors include DART Machinery, MSD Ignitions, Wrisco Industries, and Quarter Master.
With high-hopes for the 2005 season, Rick Eckert of York,PA was looking for a good season. Getting out of the gate strongly was a must with the caliber of competition he would face along the World of Outlaws Late Model Series trail.
The season started off not the way “Scrub” and the rest of the “Orange Crush” race team were hoping for. Leaving Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park in 12th position in Championship points after the “Speedweeks” opener in February meant a lot of hard work and of course, racing luck to get back into the hunt once the season resumed in April.
Move forward to April. Familiar territory for Eckert with the next four races at venues he knew well. Allegany County Speedway in Maryland; Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway; Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania and Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland. A chance to get back into contention.
Racing luck was not with Eckert when the season resumed. An early race crash at Allegany County Speedway put him several laps down after returning from repairs. Then things turned around the next night with a solid third place finish at V.M.S. Late April saw a sixth place finish at Lernerville. After a rain out at Hagerstown, Eckert had worked his way back to fourth in Championship points and was back in contention.
Three Top 5 finishes in the next three events propelled Eckert into the runner-up slot for the championship. The Raye Vest Excavating/J&J Steel/Hoosier Tire sponsored Raye Vest owned No. 24 Rocket Chassis/Cornett Racing Engines Ford Taurus was running great. A victory had to be coming. June 1st at Farley Speedway in Iowa that victory came moving Eckert to within eight points of the Championship point lead.
Another Top 5 finish at Dakota State Fair Speedway in South Dakota moved Eckert only two points from the lead. The expectations for the year were being reached. The next night racing luck frowned on Eckert at Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota. Mechanical problems forced Eckert pitside for repairs returning to the event several laps down and dropping to third in the Championship points. A continuous streak of Top 5 and Top 10 finishes from June 19th to August 12th kept Eckert with the third position in his quest for the Championship.
August 13th. Lincoln Speedway in Pennsylvania. Eckert’s home track. More bad luck and Eckert drops to fourth in Championship points. Then another drop in position after more bad luck at Lebanon Valley Raceway in New York.
From that point forward Eckert had racing luck back with him. More Top 5 and Top 10 finishes as well as a victory September 4th at Tri-City Speedway in Pennsylvania moved “Scrub” back to fourth in Championship points and within reach of third as the 2005 World of Outlaws Late Model Series came to a close.
A seventh place finish at Golden Isles Speedway in Georgia pulled “Scrub” to within 24 points of third place. A good finish and bad racing luck for Tim McCreadie at Volusia Speedway Park was needed. In a torrid battle in the latter stages of the season ending event, Eckert and McCreadie battled back and forth. Eckert did finish ahead of McCreadie placing fourth but it wasn’t nearly enough to crack the Top 3 in Championship points.
“It was a fairly good season for us on the World of Outlaws trail, but we just couldn’t get into victory lane enough,” stated Eckert. “Of course, everyone wants their share of wins, but we were close so many times and finished somewhere in the top five. If you look at the guys that finished ahead of us in points, we were right with them in the top five and top ten categories, but they had more wins than us. I have to thank my entire crew, family, and sponsors for all of their help this season. I especially want to thank my car owner Raye Vest and crew chief Robby Allen for their continued dedication and support.”
Though there were only two wins on the season, consistency was the key for Eckert evidenced by twenty Top 5 finishes and thirty-one Top 10 finishes. Eckert was the WoO Late Model Series leading driver in fast qualifier honors (6) and also tied for the lead in heat race wins (17). For Eckert and the Raye Vest team the 2005 season was one of highs and one of lows. Taking advantage of the highs and working hard through the lows resulted in a fourth place finish in 2005 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Championship points.
2005 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Final Championship Points
Showing Pos., Car #, Driver, Residence, Entered, Starts, Wins, Top 5’s, Top 10’s, Fast Times, Heat Wins, “B” Wins, Dash Wins, Purse $ Won, Point Fund $ Won
4. #24 Rick Eckert – York,PA: 39 – 39 – 2 – 20 – 31 – 6 – 17 – 0 – 4 - $119,960 - $43,000
The World Of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to the fans across the country by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire and SPEED Channel. Promotional Partners include AMB i.t., RACEceiver, HUMMERSGONEWILD.COM, Zippo Lighters, and The University of Northwestern Ohio. Contingency sponsors include DART Machinery, MSD Ignitions, Wrisco Industries, and Quarter Master.
